IDW Publishing is releasing 'The Art of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' this week, a 300-page volume that reveals long-lost development secrets from the Nickelodeon animated series.
Written by author Colin Stein, the book explores the production history of the 2018–2020 series and its 2022 Netflix conclusion. Most notably, the volume provides the first concrete details regarding two abandoned turtle siblings that were teased but never fully realized on screen.
The lost siblings
Animation veteran Andy Suriano confirmed in the book that the mutation event originally involved six baby turtles rather than four. While Master Splinter rescued four, two others remained behind.
“There was indeed a no-nonsense eldest brother out there as well that would shake up the family dynamics further, especially for Raph and Leo,” Suriano stated in the book.
Details regarding a second sibling, a sister, also emerged from the production archives. The character was intended to be a masked assistant to the villainous Yōkai spider, Big Mama.
Suriano noted that the character's reveal would have shown the consequences of being raised by a spider versus being raised by Splinter. While her identity remained unconfirmed, writer Ron Corcillo tweeted in 2023 that the character might have been named after artist Frida Kahlo.
Staff artist JJ Conway previously clarified on Twitter that the sister was intended to be an original character, rather than an adaptation of existing franchise characters like Venus or Jennika. This distinction separates the 'Rise' concept from other established TMNT lore.
While the series ended years ago, the possibility of a continuation remains on the table. When asked by Cartoon Base about a new comic book series, Suriano noted that a continuation is currently being discussed.
